In a thrilling opening day of the 2019 edition of Varsity Cricket, it was Madibaz and UJ who earned the tournament’s first bonus points to top the table on five points each. UJ shocked the hosts NWU. Cape sides UWC and Maties both earned victories of their own as Madibaz closed out the night with a convincing victory over UCT and a better net run rate than UJ, to top the log.

UJ bowlers topple NWU to take opening-day victory

The University of Johannesburg sent out a clear warning to their Varsity Cricket competitors as they brushed aside hosts NWU, to claim victory by 33 runs.

It was all down to a quick-fire half-century by Joshua Richards, who scored 57 off 39 balls, and a superb UJ bowling performance, as the Orange Army choked the hosts (129 all out) to defeat.

Once UJ applied the stranglehold, they were unrelenting, claiming their first victory of the tournament in a canter. Chad Claasen (2/12) impressed with his pace whilst the diminutive Tumelo Thlokwe (2/13 in 4 overs) had NWU in a spin.

UJ started like a house on fire with the dangerous Delano Potgieter (29 off 13) and Joshua Richards (57 off 39) battering NWU pacers AJ Jacobs and Nico Loubser to all corners of the ground.

It was to be spin that made the breakthrough for the home side when Ruan Haasbroek forced Potgieter to sky one to captain Lesego Senokwane, who took a fine catch under pressure.

Richards, though, continued to fire on all cylinders hitting the first 50 of the tournament, ending on a well-compiled 57 (39) before Haasbroek bowled him out in the power play with the score on 98. UJ soon found themselves on 113/4 when Henro Janse van Rensburg picked up the scalp of Juan Landsberg. NWU further exerted their pressure and restricted UJ to a score of 157/7 in their allotted 20 overs, having looked likely to reach 200 after the first 5 overs.

NWU began their innings in the worst way possible when opener Lourén Steenkamp lost his middle stump for just 5, with Chad “Giggs” Classen doing the damage. It was soon 32/3 when Eben Botha was fooled by Tumelo Thlokwe’s off-spin. Things went from bad to worse when Ruan Haasbroek was needlessly run out to leave NWU at 60/5 at the 10-over strategy break.

It was only Janse van Rensburg who showed defiance with a speedy 42 (24) that included two fours and two sixes.

UJ kept their foot on the pedal as they consistently took wickets to claim victory and a maximum five points. NWU ran out of batsmen in the end.

MTN Player of The Match: Joshua Richards (UJ)
Steers Best Batsman: Joshua Richards (UJ)
FNB Best Bowler: Chad Claasen (UJ)

Teams
UJ: Delano Potgieter, Joshua Richards, Mohammed Mayet, Juan Landsberg, Glen Adams, Cameron Shekleton, Marco van Biljon, Tumelo Thlokwe, Chad Classen, Andrew Rasemene, Kamogelo Selane
NWU: Eben Botha, Louren Steenkamp, Lesego Senokwane, Michau du Preez, Ruan Haasbroek, Henro Janse van Rensburg, Khanya Cotani, Nico Loubser, Bantu Dandala, AJ Jacobs, Danfred Sefoor

Maties stun the mighty Tuks in Potch

Maties got their 2019 Varsity Cricket campaign off to a promising start when they beat Tuks by five wickets at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Monday afternoon.

It was Tuks who opened the batting but lost an important wicket early on when captain Neil Brand was bowled out after scoring just four runs, leaving Tuks at 16/1. Jiveshen Pillay put on an impressive batting display, taking Tuks to the 50 mark after five overs. But shortly after the milestone Pillay was caught out just shy of his own half-century. He was sent back to the dressing room on 46 off 33 balls, leaving his team on 81/2.

Van Heerden was the second-best Tuks batsman of the day, scoring 38 runs off 31 balls. Tuks ended their innings on 162/5, leaving Maties with an awkward target of 163 runs for victory.

The men from the Western Cape were slow out of the blocks but held on to valuable wickets. Tuks were unable to punish them after dropping an important catch. Captain Fritz de Beer was the first wicket to fall when Maties had reached 45.

Midway through their allotted 20 overs, Maties were on 83/1, ahead by only seven runs but with nine wickets in hand. Tuks continued to push for a wicket and eventually, their breakthrough would come at the end of the eleventh over, when Branden Brodell was dismissed for 32 (20).

Louis du Preez stepped up to the crease and continued to build momentum for Maties but was caught out having made a quickfire 29 from 11 balls. This left it to Daniel da Costa, who proved to be Maties’ hero of the day, as he smashed two sixes in two balls to secure a five-wicket victory for the Stellenbosch side.

MTN Best Bowler: Sean Gilson (Tuks)
Steers Best Batsman: Jiveshen Pillay (Tuks)
FNB Player of the Match: Louis du Preez (Maties)

Teams
Tuks: Neil Brand, Jiveshen Pillay, Ruan de Swardt, Donovan Ferreira, Rubin Hermann, Sean Gilson, Aaron Visser, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bonga Chepkonga, Kundai Matigimu, Francois van Heerden

Maties: Fritz de Beer, Vezokuhle Mntungwa, Branden Brodell, Louis du Preez, Isma-eel Gaffieldien, Daniel da Costa, Benjamin Ward, Khanya Dilima, Luke Holland, Anele Ngcwabe, David Rushmere

UWC too good for CUT at the NWU Oval

UWC completed a comfortable 28-run victory against CUT on day one of the 2019 Varsity Cricket competition in Potchefstroom. It was a well-deserved win for UWC who were the better side on the afternoon.

The men from Bellville made 183/3 before bowling CUT out for 155 in a clinical display.

Mujaahid Toffar (51 off 47) and Josh Schippers (52 off 37) made the perfect start for UWC when they hammered their way to 91/0 in the first 10 overs, heading into the strategy break. CUT needed to strike back or face a mounting challenge in the second innings.

The breakthrough came via a run-out from the lanky pace bowler, Nealan van Heerden, who managed a direct hit from his position at long-on with a bullet throw. As a bonus, this came in the power play, which truly lifted the Bloemfontein side’s spirits.

CUT then tightened their grip on the match with economic bowling by Relobohile Panyane (1/27) in four overs, but ultimately UWC set a challenging total of 183/3.

UWC made a fantastic start with the ball when their Varsity Football captain Emmanuel Sebarame trapped Iviwe Gwana for a duck. Constant pressure from UWC restricted CUT to 50/4, but CUT’s Thiardt Ingram (36 off 30) and Hannes Venter (28 off 28) stood tall for a while.

The bowling of Sebarame (3/18), Axola Ngwana (3/19) and Mihlali Mpongnwana (2/25) kept CUT out of the game as they ended with a victory on the opening day.

MTN Man of The Match: Josh Schippers (UWC)
Steers Best Batsman: Josh Schippers (UWC)
FNB Best Bowler: Emmanuel Sebarame (UWC)

Teams
UWC: Mujaahid Toffar, Josh Schippers, Karl Vermeulen, Luke Philander, Thandani Majebe, Mihlali Mpongwana, Axola Ngwana, Kyle Pluke, Emmanuel Sebarame, Jeffrey September, Keane Solomons

CUT: Iviwe Gwana, Marx de Villiers, Calvin Flanegan, Eduan Coetzee, Thiardt Ingram, Hannes Venter, Jason Raubenheimer, Delano Williams, Nealan van Heerden, Franklin Damons, Relebohile Phanyane

Madibaz make light work of UCT in final match of Day One

Madibaz asserted their dominance in the 2019 Varsity Cricket competition when they beat UCT by 56 runs at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Monday night.

Madibaz came out first to bat and although they lost Jarryd Lookwhy and Joshua van Heerden early on, David Masterson and Tristan Stubbs built a strong 50-run partnership, as Masterson smacked a six to bring up 100 runs for the Port Elizabeth side.

Madibaz continued to dominate, but it was Stubbs who stood out, managing an unbeaten 74 off 49 balls to put Madibaz at 198/4 at the end of their 20 overs, just shy of the 200 mark.

UCT struggled to build partnerships, with Joshua Coetzee scoring 41 runs and Robert Koenig stroking three fours to muster a total of 26 runs. Madibaz’s impressive fielding managed to keep the UCT bowlers at bay, allowing them to only score a total of just 141 runs in their twenty overs, falling short by 56 runs.

Hlumelo Cekisani, Keeran Forbes and Sean Callaghan were leading wicket-takers for Madibaz, all claiming two wickets apiece in their spells of four overs.

MTN Best Bowler: Hlumelo Cekisani (Madibaz)
Steers Best Batsman: Tristan Stubbs (Madibaz)
FNB Player of the Match: Tristan Stubbs (Madibaz)

Teams
Madibaz: Keeran Forbes, Sean Callaghan, Hlumelo Cekisani, Neo Pepeta, Joshua van Heerden, David Masterson, Michael Hansel, Tristan Stubbs, Morne Venter, Brian Jack, Jarryd Lookwhy

UCT: Siyabulela Ntuntwana, Khwezi Luthuli, Craig Meier, Robert Koenig, Donald Paterson, Brandon Tattam, Matthew Benning, Joshua Coetzee, Matthew Rudston, Jack Reinbach, Yelani Bonga